The Big Job

“After staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men.” Nehemiah 2:12

Sometimes the day looms large, and the task at hand is overwhelming—even when you know the mandate is divine.  So where do you start and what do you do?

Begin by showing up. You can’t do much unless you’re there, so follow Nehemiah’s example—hop on your horse and trot to town. 

When you arrive, assess the situation.  Ignorance might be bliss, but in difficult times, it’s not best. You need to know what you’re dealing with so you can know what needs to be done.  “I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days, I set out during the night with a few men”(Neh 2:12).  Nehemiah’s night time ride revealed lots of rubble in lots of places.  The “walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire” lay in piles of ruins which were often impassable(Neh. 2:13-14). The scope of damage was extensive, but because Nehemiah didn’t want to stay in the dark, he set out in the dark.

Once you know how much work awaits, speak up, but keep quiet until you’re quite sure.  Nehemiah was a man with a mission, but he didn’t announce his intentions upon arrival.  “I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem…The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing ”(Neh. 2:11-12).

By not delivering speeches until the damage survey was done, Nehemiah could offer informed leadership to the “priests, nobles, officials, and any others who would be doing the work”(Neh 2:16), and he could urge them to step in with him in confidence. “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in…Come, let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace”(Neh 2:17).  He told them “about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me”(Neh. 2:19), and they were eager to begin.

When the task at hand is tough and tall, show up.  Assess the situation.  Keep quiet until you’re quite sure.  Then step in with confidence.

With the gracious hand of your God upon you, great works will be done through you.